A Chance
by mockingjay-x
Summary: One-shot. Addison/Mark. Addison-centric. What if life in L.A. isn't enough anymore?


**This is set more around Season 1 of Private Practice. Just because I'm yet to watch Season Two even though it's sitting on my Sky+ box after being recorded. It's just easier for me, that's all. Yet, Violet and Addison have a pretty good friendship, just because I like Violet a lot.**

**I own nothing. Reviews are appreciated. Not the greatest. But I had it in my mind, therefore you got something.**

* * *

It was easy to deny that she ever had feelings for the man, that it was anything more than sex that they shared. She done that all the time too, because it just seemed easier. It meant that she could get on with her life in L.A. and not think about him and how he was doing. She could date other men or at least think about dating other men and move on from everything in her past. Everything in New York, everything in Seattle. Well, she wanted to forget Seattle more than she did New York, there were more good memories of New York than Seattle. However, every single day when she was sitting at her desk at Oceanside Wellness, she thought about New York. She thought about going back to visit for a few days, catch up with Savvy and Weiss but it never happened. She had her weekends with everyone from work, more with Violet than anyone else. But she never had her weekends that were completely about herself, completely about Addison Forbes Montgomery.

"Addison?" Hearing the sound of Violet's voice, Addison smiled a little as she looked up from her desk to her friend who was standing in the doorway to her office.

"Yeah?"

"Meeting about now. Or did you forget?" Violet smiled at the red head who had been lost in her thought when she had entered her office.

Addison couldn't help but smile sheepishly at Violet as she stood up from her desk, nodding her head ever so slightly. "Is it obvious I forgot?"

"Considering you were sitting there staring at your desk when you're always at the meeting early, I'd say it was obvious," she replied as they walked out of Addison's office down towards the conference room where everyone else already was. "What's with you anyway? You've been like this for days."

Addison hesitated for a few seconds before answering Violet, she could trust her not to say anything. Then again, it wasn't as though it was anything major, but she knew more questions would come of it. "I think I need a vacation."

"A vacation?" Violet stopped walking and gently grabbed Addison's arm before they got too close to everyone else. "We have everything you could ever want here, why would you need a vacation? What's Pete done now?"

"Pete? Nothing. I just need to get away for a while, a few days even. I just need it, Vi." Addison said as she looked at her friend, a hesitant look on her face as to whether she should say anything else. "Just don't say anything to anyone else, please?"

* * *

That conversation had been two weeks before, and Addison was now sitting in a cab from JFK airport to her hotel. She'd booked it for a week, although she wasn't entirely sure that she was going to stay that long. The only people she really wanted to see were Savvy, Weiss and Nancy. The first two didn't even know she was going to be in New York, it was just a matter of she'd call when she got there. She had plans to meet up with Nancy at the weekend, when she could be free of her kids for the night and that was it. It would be the two of them catching up and forgetting everything that had happened in the past, in the place which she had found herself wanting to visit.

"Here you are, miss." It seemed that people had been bringing her out of her thoughts a lot lately, because the cab driver done exactly that.

"Huh?" Addison looked around and then to the cab driver, a small smile on her lips. "Thanks."

Once the red head had her suitcase and had paid the driver, along with giving him a far too big of a tip she walked into the hotel, thanking the doorman as he held the door open for her. Even though Nancy had said that she could stay with her, Addison wanted her alone time, she wanted to be able to relax and not worry about anyone interrupting her when she was sitting in her hotel room watching a movie.

"Suite 1412. Fourteenth floor. Do you need any help with your luggage, Ms Montgomery?" the blonde haired receptionist asked as she handed Addison her room key.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Addison said politely as she made her way over to the elevator, it was actually quite nice having people do things for her, but she wanted to be independent as well, she didn't need people constantly waiting on her hand and foot. So, the doorman, the elevator operator and the receptionist were enough help for Addison.

Entering her room a couple of minutes later, Addison smiled to herself as she let the door close behind her as she instantly made her way over to the window. Admittedly, it wasn't as good as being higher up in the hotel, but seeing New York like this was enough for her. She was back in the place she loved, the place she really did belong. As much as she loved Los Angeles, she was definitely a city girl at heart, a New York girl at heart.

* * *

She'd been in New York for three days and she was yet to call Savvy to let her know she was there, she'd spent most of her time walking down Fifth Avenue or around Central Park. For some strange reason, she'd even made her way down to the street she used to live on and stood outside the Brownstone for twenty minutes before deciding that it wasn't helping get over everything completely.

"Addison?" No. That was a not a voice she wanted to hear, she was in New York to escape all of that. She'd moved to L.A. to escape all of that. Yet she couldn't ignore him, she couldn't just carry on walking and pretend as though she hadn't heard that all too familiar voice.

Slowly turning round, her grey orbs instantly found his blue ones and she didn't know whether to tell him to leave her alone or welcome the fact that he was standing there. "What are you doing here? You should be in Seattle."

"Conference, plus I kind of missed the place." Mark shrugged his shoulders as he pushed his hands into that all too familiar leather jacket pockets. "I didn't expect to see you here again, I thought you'd be living it up in L.A."

Damn it. Why did the man always have to look so good? She was forgetting him, she was moving on from all of that, yet here he was standing in front of her and there was a part of her which was pleased to see him. "I needed a vacation. I thought I'd come here to get away."

Mark nodded his head disbelievingly as he looked at the red head, taking a few steps closer to her hoping that she wouldn't walk away. "This where you're staying too?" He glanced at the hotel they were standing outside of before looking back to Addison.

"Yeah."

"Right." There was silence, it wasn't awkward, nor was it comfortable. Neither one of them knew exactly what to say, but it was clear that neither one of them wanted to just leave the other standing there.

After what felt like forever, Addison shifted her weight between her feet as she spoke. "When is your conference? It's Friday, so you've either had it, or it's not until Monday."

"Yesterday and today. I'm here for a few more days though, making the most of the city."

"We could..." Addison began, looking down at the ground before continuing. "Go for a drink or something, since we're both here," the red head brought her gaze up to meet Mark's yet again only to see his signature grin upon his face.

"I thought you'd never ask."

As much as she didn't want to, Addison couldn't help but smile at him moving ever so slightly closer to him. "Shut up."

"You've missed me." He was teasing her, yet they both knew that he was being serious about it. "Can I get a hug for old times sake?"

She couldn't say no, she needed to be close to someone, she'd missed the comfort of having someone there and Mark had always been there for her before. Stepping closer to him, her arms found their way around his waist as his wrapped around her tightly, both seemingly holding on to something they'd missed. This wasn't like her, she wasn't meant to give in like this, but it was Mark, she couldn't just tell him to leave her alone when they were both in the same city staying at the same hotel. Both apparently looking for something they hadn't had in a long time.

Pulling away from him, Addison found her eyes getting lost in his yet again and she stepped back so that she wasn't too close to him. "I'm free tonight, I'm spending tomorrow with Nancy though. But if you're not doing anything, we could do something tonight?" It surprised her at how much she wanted to be around him, how much she wanted to spend the evening in Mark Sloan's company.

* * *

Pulling the duvet around her, Addison let out a soft sigh, it was Sunday and she'd spent Friday night with Mark catching up on things and then all of Saturday either shopping, drinking or eating with Nancy. They'd had a serious girlie day together and it felt good to see her again, to be able to walk down Fifth Avenue and enjoy all the shops there. Reaching for the phone on the bedside table she picked up the receiver and dialled the number to Mark's room, she shouldn't do it, but she really wanted to see him.

"Hello?" As soon as she heard his voice, Addison knew she'd woken him up and she felt bad for doing it.

"It's me."

"Addison, do you know what time it is?" He grumbled, but was actually pleased it was Addison that had woken him up rather than someone else.

"No, early?"

"Too early."

"Are you phoning for any reason, or just to wake me up?"

Addison couldn't help but smile at the sound of his voice, he didn't sound all that annoyed which surprised her. "I... Can you... Do you mind..."

"Addie, just say what you want to say."

"Can I come up? Or you come down here?"

The smile on his was going to be clear when he spoke, he knew that it would be, but honestly, he didn't care. "You woke me, so it's only fair you come up."

"You're going to have to get up to let me in."

"I can deal with that. You're coming up now, right?" Mark couldn't help but sound hopeful, it wasn't as though he was expecting anything to happen. He wasn't even bothered whether anything did, it was just enough knowing that Addison wanted to spend time with him, that she'd called him to see if she could go up to his room. Admittedly, the fact that they were in the same hotel did help with that, but that was only a minor detail in his opinion.

"Give me two minutes and I'll come up."

"See you soon, Addie."

With that, Addison hung up the phone and slowly and reluctantly pushed the duvet off of her body, the cold air instantly hitting her. Once she'd pulled a sweater on and grabbed her key card, Addison slipped on the slippers that were in the room before making her way up to Mark's floor. As she stood outside his room, she knocked lightly on the door and waited for him to answer.

The moment he opened the door, the grin appeared on his face and Addison rolled her eyes as she walked in, hitting his arm playfully as she passed him. "You're an ass, Mark."

"You called me."

"Nothing's happening."

"I never suggested a thing." He replied as he walked back over to the bed and got back in, patting the space beside him in the bed.

"Ass." Addison shook her head before taking the sweater off again and putting it at the end of the bed before getting in beside Mark. She just wanted the company, she wanted to be with someone she knew, someone who knew her and Mark was perfect for that.

"Mind if I asked why you wanted to come up? Or are we gonna just sit here in silence?" Mark asked curiously as he sat up ever so slightly.

"I just did. We're not talking about that, not yet."

"Fine. Am I allowed to put my arm around you or are you worried that will lead to something else?"

Addison looked up at Mark, a smile on her face as she grabbed his hand and put his arm around her shoulder, moving closer to him. "It's fine. If I'm honest, I've actually missed you."

"I've missed you too, Addie."

* * *

"Come on, what happened in New York, Addison?" Violet asked as they stood in the break room while Addison made herself a cup of coffee.

"Nothing happened in New York, Vi." Addison lied as she avoided looking at her friend. She hadn't spoken to Mark since he'd left New York, but every single day she wanted to call him. She'd wanted to hear his voice, have him there at night when she fell asleep. Nothing had actually happened between them other than sharing a bed on his last night there. Which for Mark and Addison was surprising.

"Since you've been back, it's like you're this completely different person. You're happy all the time and as far as I know, you're not dating." Violet found herself distracted by a man at the reception desk talking to Dell, someone who she'd never seen before, but she knew she wouldn't mind seeing again "Who's that?"

Addison turned round at her friends question, to be confronted with the sight of Mark talking to Dell and she couldn't help but smile. "That's Mark." She had no idea what he was doing there, but honestly, she didn't care.

"Mark?" Violet asked, looking between Addison and the guy.

"Just Mark." Addison walked away from Violet, without another word making her way towards Mark who had seen her and was now making his way towards her. "Why are you here?" She didn't mean it to sound rude, she was just curious, yet as she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his arms around her waist, Addison knew Mark would know she didn't meant it to sound rude.

"I hope you don't mind me relocating, if you do. I've had a job offer back in New York, I can go there." He mumbled against her red hair, still holding her tightly.

Addison pulled away from him, her eyes falling on his once again as she spoke. "You've left Seattle? For good?"

"Yeah. I figured, I'd try it in L.A. See if there was any reason to keep me here, if not, I'd go back to New York." Mark shrugged his shoulders slightly, keeping one arm around Addison's waist as she kept her hand on his muscular arm.

"You mean, me?"

"Actually, I meant that woman who's standing behind you staring at the two of us." Mark nodded his head in the direction of Violet and as Addison turned around she couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"That's Violet. She's just curious as to who you are, other than the fact you're Mark." Addison replied as she smiled at Violet before grabbing Mark's hand and pulling him in the direction of her office.

"Sam and Nae around?" He asked as they walked down the hallway and entered Addison's office.

"It's their lunch hour." Addison answered, closing the door as she let go of his hand before closing the blinds for more privacy.

"Plan on taking advantage of me in your office?" Mark teased, his cocky grin on his face.

"You want me to decide whether you should move down here?" She asked seriously, resting against the edge of her desk as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why else would I even be in this place, Red?"

She didn't have an answer for that, because he'd made it clear before that L.A. wouldn't be his choice of places to live, but here he was, in LA willing to move down there for her. "It's not that easy, Mark. What if we try this again and we don't work out? We didn't before, what's the difference now?"

"We didn't before because you were still in love with Derek, that's why when we were in New York, we didn't work out. My cheating might have had something to do with it, but I'm not that guy any more, Addison." Mark began only to be interrupted by Addison.

"The bet."

Mark couldn't help but roll his eyes at the mention of their sixty day bet. "Is something I didn't break. You did. I went sixty days without sex, without anything. You, you found Karev to scratch your itch. I saw you come out of the on-call room, so don't deny it. Since you left, I've slept with two people, that's it. I've even been on a couple of dates!"

That caused Addison to smile ever so slightly, the thought of Mark Sloan going out on a date, it just wasn't something she could imagine. "You don't date. As for the bet, I'm sorry. I just... You said..."

"You didn't want to get hurt again, I get it. But this time, give me a chance. How are we ever gonna find out whether we're meant to be together if we don't give it another go? I want to, Addie. I'm willing to do anything to make you realise that I want to be down here with you." He was pleading, begging with her. He'd missed her and this was their chance, a real chance at being in a relationship together.

"Can we do the whole dating thing? I mean, really date. No sex on the first one or anything like that. Serious dating." She pushed herself off the desk and moved slightly closer to him as he stood there, a smirk on his face.

"Do I get to kiss you?" He asked as he moved a little closer to her, reaching for her hand.

"You might be able to."

"Even before the first date?"

"Try it and see." Addison laced her fingers with his, a small grin on her face as she looked up at him.

"Oh, Addie. Can I sleep on your sofa tonight?"

"Mark, shut up and kiss me." Addison's other arm found it's way around Mark's neck as she pressed her lips firmly against smiling against them as she felt his arms gripping her tightly. It felt so good to be back in this position, to know that things were actually going somewhere with Mark again, that things weren't looking so bad after all.


End file.
